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I had such a hard time getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask questions like this when I was on unemployment. If you need to talk to someone about your specific situation, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually gets you through to a real agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Saved me hours of trying to call.
The whole system is a mess honestly. They say 2-3 weeks but I've seen people wait months because of stupid technicalities. Make sure you have all your documentation ready and pray nothing gets flagged for review.
The restaurant industry is the WORST for this stuff. They deliberately keep people part-time to avoid benefits and then act like they're doing you a favor. At least NYS Department of Labor recognizes that this is basically partial unemployment. Document everything - your availability, when you ask for more hours, all of it.
wait what's the difference between an appeal and adjudication?? I thought adjudication was the appeal process
You can definitely represent yourself but make sure you understand what specific reason they gave for denying your claim. The appeal has to address that exact issue - like if they said you were fired for misconduct, you need to prove it wasn't misconduct or wasn't serious enough to disqualify you from benefits.
NeonNebula
this is why the whole system is messed up - people pay into unemployment insurance but can't collect when they need it. but yeah legally speaking they can't get benefits without proper work authorization. the restaurant industry especially has this problem where workers contribute to systems they can't access
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Anastasia Kozlov
Just want to add that if your friend needs help navigating this situation or understanding their options, they might want to contact a workers' rights organization. Some provide confidential assistance and know about alternative resources that don't require the same documentation as government benefits.
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